004

[madamemoiselle]

{Diva appears on the Astral Plane, and if she was looking bad before, it’s a lot worse now. But after what happened at her new "home", it'd be considered a miracle she was even alive. She’s nude, but covered head to toe in blood. Bandages are wrapped around her in certain places, and stitches stand out against her skin where limbs seem to have been reattached.

As soon as weight is put on her feet, she falls, as her ankles crack and bend to the side. She whimpers for a moment, curling in on herself to hold her ankles tenderly, but as her arms protest the movement as well, she finally screams in agonized pain.}

Comments

[madamemoiselle]

{Holds her hand out for him with a half smile} ...Thank you.

[didorothy]

[carefully takes her hand, trying to be as gentle as possible when removing the bandages]

[madamemoiselle]

{Never takes her eyes off what he's doing, but even if it hurts, she's not showing it and instead smiling gratefully, if not half-heartedly}

[didorothy]

[not taking his eyes off what he's doing either, because he's definitely not an expert and he wants to minimize the harm he'll probably end up doing]

So, uh... [a pause, and then he tries again] When I was a kid, Mum always took care of my bandages. A really little kid, I mean. If I was hurt, I went straight to Mum to have it taken care of. But Auntie Heather - my Mum's sister - was afraid I'd grow up to be 'girly.' She was right, I guess. [spares Diva a half-smile before returning to concentrate on his work] So Auntie Heather always made me deal with my own scrapes. I remember, Mum went away for a week, and Auntie Heather watched me. By the end of the week, she'd broken me of the habit, and I never went to Mum for bandages after that.

[looks up at Diva] What else do you need?

[madamemoiselle]

{Sniffle} I...I don't get it. {Rubs her un-bandaged hand delicately before wiping at her face slightly as she starts to cry}

W-Why...? Why are you...so nice to me?

[didorothy]

Hey, hey, don't... [puts a tentative hand on her shoulder] I think I've said before that discussions about my philosophy are for when you're not dying? [tries to give her a smile]

[madamemoiselle]

{Wipes at her eyes again}...Fine.

{Diva takes her other arm and carefully pushes it up with a wince and deep breath. But after her flesh starts to reattach itself she sighs and reaches down to unwrap her other ankle.} It's...It's not fair that...that everyone else got...n-nicer worlds.

[didorothy]

No, it isn't. But all of them seem to be taking a turn for the worse, now. I'm worried.

Why did you go back? You could've stayed here.

[madamemoiselle]

I was hungry. {Completely unashamed of that}

I didn't want...to hurt anyone here. {Well, at least she's breathing easier now. Other than that one arm and the stitches, everything else is fine.}

[didorothy]

[a pause] You could've asked people to give a bit of blood, here. Like I said. Between me and a few others, you could've had a full meal without killing anyone.

[madamemoiselle]

Those people aren't real. The people here...They are. They mean something to me. {Diva tenatively pushes herself up, cradling the more injured arm carefully before she sit up to face him.}

I like the people here.

[didorothy]

[smiles slightly] Well, you're liked here.

[and then, serious again] You don't have to steal blood, Diva. There are people here who'd be willing to give it to you, short of killing themselves. People here like you. Most of them are used to pretty weird things. There are enough people who'd give blood to you for you to live.

[madamemoiselle]

{She almost looks like she might cry again.}...You...You really think so?

[didorothy]

I do.

[madamemoiselle]

{A very genuine smile, then}...That's...Mm, that's really nice. I hope that...it's true.

{Diva takes a deep breath before reaching to the stitches on her legs first. She pulls on one carefully, not wanting to break it and have to start again, but she's grimacing in pain again and trying to hold back any noise by biting her lip}

[didorothy]

[and he shifts to sit closer to her side, carefully putting his hand over her free one] Do... do you want to talk, to help distract you from the pain?

[madamemoiselle]

{She finishes pulling out the first one before she answers} Ah....well...

I feel kind of bad for that Sephiroth person. {she grabs hold of another and starts to remove it as well} I thought that I was the only one that had to deal with anything like...like being an experiment. It's not something that people who....haven't e-experienced it can...imagine. {pauses to take another deep breath} I...didn't even think that there was another person like Joel. Joel...and this not Joel, they're the same. It's...really scary.

[didorothy]

I'm sorry you had to go through that again.

Do you feel better, knowing you're not the only one?

[madamemoiselle]

Hmm...maybe. I've never even heard...I've never met this Se...phiroth person. {And stitch number two comes out with a rather unpleasant noise}

But it's kind of sad either way. I feel bad for that person because I know what it's like, but...well, it was different too. A lot has changed since the time...Well, the time I lived in that tower. That was the 1800s, so...well, stitches like these didn't really exist. It's a lot worse to just have to grab your arm and hold it up to what's left until it heals. And I'd get infections pretty often, but if I was lucky enough to have one on the days Joel came, then I got another week. So, you can imagine, being sick for a day wasn't as bad as the kind of experiments Joel did.

{She starts pulling out another with a grimace} Ah...but you p-probably don't want to hear about something like that. It's....not pleasant.

[didorothy]

I didn't go into policing because I want to hear pleasant things. I want to help, and if it helps you to talk about it, I'm all ears.

[madamemoiselle]

{Shakes her head slightly} Ah...we could sit here forever and I'd never be able to tell you all of the...things like that. I've been...alive too long, you know? {She stops to breathe heavily, setting that long black string down as well, but continues}

With all of the the things humans have done to me, I think that people just assume that I hate them. But...I can't. Well, I do sometimes, but there are good people. But humans die. So I never know them longer than three years because they either die or...well, I just never see them again. Except the famous ones like Adolf, or Alexei. History remembers them, so I at least get to find out later. Oh, but I'm glad Adolf died the way he did. He was such a mean man~ I never understood why Martin was his friend. {She nods with a small noise of agreement to herself before she starts to pull out the next one}

[didorothy]

My guess's that your Martin was using him.

Why three years?

[madamemoiselle]

I thought that too...But no, Martin and Adolf were actually friends. They were...kind of the same. Martin was just more willing to be subservient...But Martin was an idiot. He was trying to hurt me that whole time. {Her expression changes to a slightly sour one, but seeming almost...bored} There's only so far I'm going to let my Chevalier have their way before they get punished.

Ah, but three years is how it works. Ever since Amshel became my Chevalier, I can only be awake for three years at a time before I have to sleep for thirty years. I hate that more than anything else. {And with that, she pulls out the last stitch with a heavy sigh} But it's nothing compared to the first fifty years, I think.

[didorothy]

[her expression registers as something to worry about in his head] Diva... [but he shakes his head]

That sounds like a pretty horrible way to make it through the centuries. Unless they're good dreams, anyway.

[madamemoiselle]

What? {Innocently, before she turns her head to the side with a small noise of indignation} I wasn't just going to play nice forever and let him send me off to whatever high-ranking official might have needed my help or some nonsense like that. Amshel liked Martin, so he let him, but really! It's not like I'm going to seduce every man that they ask me to. I got tired of it, so I had Solomon make sure that Martin paid in his blood after I had gone to sleep since he obviously didn't value mine.

Hm...Well, I don't wake up feeling scared. Well, then again, I don't wake up feeling really anything. It's stupid. I have to wake up and drink my Chevalier's blood, or else I won't remember anything. It happened to Saya this time. Her Chevalier, he didn't come when she woke up, so she forgot everything. Even her dearest sister.